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Recognizes a pharmacist who is involved in an innovative pharmacy practice resulting in improved patient care. The nomination must include a description of the innovative pharmacy practice which would qualify the recipient for this award.

This Year's Recipient

Holly Lassila, BSPharm, MSEd, RPh, DPh, MPH

Holly Lassila’s clinical practice, which is based in behavioral health, is associated with Pittsburgh Mercy Behavioral Health System and Operation Safety Net.Operating out of the Bethlehem Haven facility, a homeless shelter for women, Holly and her PY4 students provide immunizations, point-of-care screening services, lifestyle recommendations, and medication therapy management/ disease state management services to both shelter residents and walk-ins.A disease state and lifestyle modification presentation is delivered once weekly during the Wellspring substance abuse recovery group meeting.

She also accompanies medical residents on the Operation Safety Net medical van, an outreach program that delivers medical care to the homeless population.This outreach program frequents undeserved neighborhoods in and surrounding the Pittsburgh area.This is the first-in-the-nation program of its kind – its mission is to meet people where they are.The pharmacy services that she and her students contribute, offer an added dimension to the improvement of health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

The recipient further serves as an Associate Professor of pharmacy practice and preceptor for the advanced pharmacy practices experiences for Duquesne University School of Pharmacy.